Montgomery Co. has nation’s highest graduation rate

WASHINGTON – Montgomery County is the top of the pack out of the nation’s large school districts, with an 87 percent graduation rate, according to Education Week‘s recently published 2012 Diplomas Count report.

Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig says the school system wants to see an increased push to get graduation rates higher.

“We’re not going to stop working until we know 100 percent of our kids are graduating on-time and that they’re ready for whatever comes next,” Tofig says.

The report, which features data from the National Center for Education Statistics comes from the class of 2009, the most recent year for which data was available.

Meanwhile in Virginia, Fairfax County schools ranked second on the list, with an 85 percent graduation rate.

The District’s schools came in last on the list, with 52 percent of the class of 2009 graduating, up 9 percent from 2008 — a strong increase.

Nationwide, the report finds graduation rates across the nation are rising. Graduation rates are up 2 percent, with 73 percent of students graduating.

Meghin Moore and WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this story. Follow Kate and WTOP on Twitter.